Plumtum

How can we build a network that grows with its viewers?

Brand Identity & Integrated Marketing

Sit a child in front of their favorite cartoon, and they're hooked. They might even watch the same episodes on repeat. These are unique shows, the ones that kids grow up idolizing. But for brands trying to tap into this demographic, grabbing the attention of children takes skill. You need the right mix of content and a signature character that pulls in viewers. So how do you create a network that kids will watch? Plumtum sought to figure this out.

Plumtum is a new children's network available only on YouTube. It's home to animated films, and tv shows not available anywhere else.

Grabbing the attention span with a new star

The project’s success was more about gaining attention and less about programming. The network knew they had fantastic content. The problem was giving kids a reason to tune in every day. In the variety of kids shows we researched, the most popular brands focused on a central character. Kids gravitated to these larger than life personalities who grew into pop icons.

The hook we needed was a central character. One with enough charm to grow into a staple as the brand grew in popularity. The character needed to be synonymous with the network. To achieve this, we paired the mascot with every marketing touchpoint created for the brand. We wanted to make sure that when you saw an advertisement for the channel, Plumtum would be front and center.

Color & Type Choices

“Instead of trying to gain kids attention, how about we gain trust long-term?”

An obvious question became the through-line of our creative strategy.

Plumtum has a broad audience spanning from toddlers to young children. We thought about how their taste might change as they matured and how Plumtum would respond as a network. Most cartoon characters remain the same. So we asked ourselves what does Plumtum as a brand look like when fans get older? What worked for a child at 15 months won't be the same story three years from now.

Kids who watch shows on Plumtum are of all different ages. Which for us meant not everyone watches the same programming. While there's room for overlap, it's less likely for toddlers to watch the same shows as older children.

We decided Plumtum's look should differ depending on the show's audience. A cartoon for an 18-month-old should feature an age-appropriate mascot. As viewers mature, so do the shows they watch, so does Plumtum. That allowed us to create a character, and continuous brand kids can identify with because they've both grown up together.